The Journey to the West, how the monk freed the monkey.

Hello, this is Jana, and I'm here with a story from China about a monk and a super-powered monkey.

Previously, we heard how the monkey, Sun Wukong, fought the armies of heaven.

His favourite weapon was an iron staff that he could shrink to the size of a pin and keep behind his ear, but eventually he met his match, the Buddha himself.

The Buddha was a prince born in the mountains of India. He gave up his life of luxury and set out on a search for truth

and inner peace. In this story, he is also the most powerful spiritual being in the universe. He trapped

Sun Wukong beneath a mountain, where the monkey remained for 500 years.

When the monkey had spent 499 years under the mountain,

the Emperor of China wanted to bring the Buddha's holy teachings to his people.

The sacred writings were far away in India.

After calling all the holiest monks to his palace,

he chose Tripitaka to fetch the writings.

His epic mission was known as the Journey to the West.

Tripitaka set out on as the journey to the west.

Tripitaka set out on his white horse, picking his way across mountain passes and travelling across deserts

until he reached double forked mountain.

He followed the path that led through the forest, up and around the mountain.

Towards evening, a tiger jumped down from a tree and landed in front of him.

It snarled and dribbled hungrily. Trippitaka's horse reared up, causing the monk to fall to the ground.

He squeezed his eyes tight, believing that his journey was already at an end.

A second later, a hunter also jumped down from a tree and fought the tiger with his bare hands.

When the roaring stopped, the monk wondered if he had gone to Nirvana, a place that

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